Anwell begins mass production of solar panels

SINGAPORE: Anwell Technologies Ltd, a global supplier of advanced manufacturing equipment and process technologies for optical disc, OLED and solar industries is pleased to announce its official entry into the solar industry as it begins mass production of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film solar panels using its in-house
developed Sunlite turnkey production line.Anwell’s a-Si thin film solar panel production line.

A unique aspect of Anwell’s equipment is that it allows for the upgrading of its existing capabilities without purchasing a separate new line, representing substantial cost savings as it plans to increase its capacity to 120MW by the end of 2010. The added flexibility will also prove invaluable as the Group markets its turnkey solar equipment, offering companies that are keen to enter the solar industry the added benefit of tailoring their investment according to their available funds and customer demand.

Positioned for growth
The global photovoltaic industry remains robust with solar installation increasing another 6 percent to reach a record high of 6.43GW in 2009, according to figures released by Solarbuzz, an international solar energy market research company. Demand for new installations was led by European countries, which accounted for 74 percent or 4.75GW of world demand.

Franky Fan, chairman and CEO, Anwell, said: “Given the strong governmental push for solar installations and heavy reliance on imports of European countries, we believe it is an ideal market for us to sell our solar panels. The German distribution centre we set up in late 2009, has already paved the way for this growth. The marketing contacts and channels established over the last few months will allow us to immediately partake in this huge demand for solar panels in Europe market.”

According to Displaybank, a global market research and consulting company, thin film solar panels are also gaining in popularity against the more established crystalline silicon panels.

Thin film solar panels made up 19.8 percent of globally produced solar panels in 2009, up from a 12.8 percent market share in 2008. This growth trend is expected to continue into 2010, where thin film solar panels are forecast to make up to 23.4 percent of the 12.1GW worth of total production.